After graduating from college and with only $200, a school friend and I founded Proforma in 1978. One year later, our print company had achieved $250,000 in sales, and by the end of 1980, it had earned more than $1 million.

Proforma expanded throughout the 1980s, particularly through franchising. The franchise model developed by our company has brought us great success and accolades. Today, Proforma consists of an entire network of more than 750 distributor members.

In the early 1990s, Proforma grew into a multinational entity by opening its first affiliate in Canada and producing an online catalog and several websites for itself and its franchises. Furthering its reach, Proforma began offering promotional products and eCommerce services. The company’s efforts garnered the attention of major investors such as Fred DeLuca, the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Subway, who invested in the company in 1996, the same year Proforma moved into the World Support Center in Cleveland. By the end of 2000, more than 500 Proforma offices existed around the world.

During the first half of the last decade, Proforma introduced a self-promotion campaign, the More and Better Appointments (MBA) campaign, that obtained awards and enhanced public awareness of the company. In 2007, Proforma published its first eco-friendly catalog using recycled papers and staples as well as soy-based inks. The catalog won an American Inhouse Design Award.

Nearly three-and-a-half decades old, Proforma remains on the cutting edge of printing technology. Currently, it serves thousands of clients, garners more than $350 million in sales annually, and receives honors from top publications and industry groups.